


Diamond Dark

by MechanistGamma



Series: Diamond Dark (Sonic | Team Dark Thief AU) [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Thieves, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29047005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MechanistGamma/pseuds/MechanistGamma
Summary: Shadow the Hedgehog, an amnesiac black superhuman with jet skates and red stripes, has a rough day. He wakes up, runs from the cops and plays a fish out of water. Meanwhile, Rouge the Bat prepares to steal a single jewel from the local bank vault.A lighthearted thief adventure/mystery story starring Team Dark of the Sonic series in an original take on the canon!
Series: Diamond Dark (Sonic | Team Dark Thief AU) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2130990
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Diamond Dark

His first thought was that the noise was  _ far _ too loud.

As the black hedgehog opened his eyes, he was forced to move his hands up, gripping his ears as the sirens blared nearby. He winced as he stood, trying to get his bearings. Losing his balance for a moment, he bumped into the side of the structure, letting out a small grunt of pain as he did. Now that the light was beginning to fade from his eyes, he stepped over the edge of the container, finally able to look about.

What he saw was a pair of robots, a few masked figures on the ground and the pod he had emerged from.

“Who…?”

“Target acquired!”

The tall, black robot raised one of his two gun-arms, pointing the barrel right at the hedgehog’s forehead. The red robot moved in to try and stop him from firing, but it was too late - the black robot elected to fire away anyways, firing off bullets at point blank range.

As if on instinct, the hedgehog zipped to the side, the rockets in his boots firing and elegantly sweeping him out of the way of the lead. “Hold up!” He raised his wrists up. “I’m not here to fight-”

“Beta! Restrain yourself!” The red robot grabbed the shoulder of his companion. “This is the objective, not a target.”

“Mission parameters state retrieval of objective.” Beta retorted, shaking himself loose. “Regardless of necessary means.”

Retrieval? That caused the hedgehog to pause for a moment. These robots were here for him? Who were they? The black robot seemed to be called Beta, and the other one had E-102 emblazoned on his chest… Regardless, it was clear they were planning to take him prisoner.

Shadow had had enough of being locked away.

Turning on a dime, he blasted his jetskates, running right past the containment pod that had kept him locked away. For a brief moment, he looked back to see the robots moving out themselves, able to hear Beta’s triumph in justification before he blasted off after Shadow, the other robot resigning himself and following. Turning his eyes back to what was ahead, Shadow noticed police cars incoming. So THAT was the source of the blaring sirens. Narrowing his eyes, he began to swerve through the streets, police cars closing in on either side of him. As officers closed in on him, he leapt into the air and flipped over the roof of one of the cars, spinning as he hit the ground before hopping onto the nearby railing of the bridge. The cops looked in shock as Shadow backflipped off the edge of the railing, catching himself on the length of a street lamp, spinning around to throw himself forward and keep running along the road. As he skated along, he closed his eyes, reflecting for a moment how good the feeling of freedom felt…

Then again, he hadn’t known much else. His memory started the moment he rose from the pod. But surely that couldn’t be where his life began… could it?

He knew his own name. His feelings couldn’t be mistaken. He resented being imprisoned. He knew how to parkour by instinct alone. Not to mention this sense of… loneliness.

And he knew how to identify all this, yet none of his own past.

Who was he?

“Target lock!”

Shadow froze for a moment at the cold robotic tone, whirling about to see the black robot from earlier flying through the air - a small disc connected to its back held it aloft as it launched a missile from its right arm. Shadow attempted to run, but the only thing in front of him now was a small parking lot and the ocean edge-

BOOM!

With the loud sound of an explosion and the force to fling him into the ocean, Shadow’s consciousness faded once again…

\---

“...MeteoTech defense robots E-101 Beta and E-102 Gamma were on the scene to respond in minimal time, dealing with the terrorists effectively. The cause of the battle, a strange pod, was located by reporters as open - potentially damaged during the struggle, causing a release of whatever was inside. Emergency police dispatch indicates this unknown prize was rapidly removed from the area by a third party, with officers now searching the local area for whatever was lost. Local police have refused to comment on what exactly the investigation is hoping to discover. This is Scarlet Garcia from SSTV Ne-”

The television was turned off, the bat finally able to make her way to her ringing phone and pick it up. “This is Rouge speaking. Who is it?”

“An old friend.” A familiar, rough voice said over the phone. “Are you ready for tonight?”

“Ready as I can be.” Rouge sighed, flopping back into her chair. “Breaking into the National Reserve Bank isn’t exactly an easy task, you know.”

“So it’s out of your expertise? I thought you were the best jewel thief in the country.”

“I never said  _ that _ .” Rouge chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you your Emerald. It’s not gonna be easy, though. I’m just worried about this job coming back to bite me in the rear. You sure Tower’s not going to be coming after me for this?”

“So long as you’ve got that ring, you’ll be just fine.”

With a smirk, Rouge looked to her hand, a golden circle mounted on her ring finger. “I suppose I will, won’t I? You want me to deliver the gem as soon as I get it, or hold on until I’ve got the rest?”

“Might be better if we do the transfer all at once to avoid suspicion. Make sure they’re somewhere secure.”   


“Honey, no one will know where to look.” Rouge hung up the phone, smiling as she got out of her chair. Looking at the clock, she read the time as 9 PM. Almost time to move out. She’d been planning this job for months and planned to go through with it - at this point, no matter what. Quickly flapping out her wings, she opened the door to Club Rouge, looking over to her current only employee. “Vanilla, I’m headed out for the night. Close up at midnight like usual, I’m sure you can handle it.”

“Of course, ma’am.” The rabbit was the older woman, yet still gave her eighteen-year-old boss the highest of respect. Vanilla was a good person. Rouge only wished she could give her a better salary.

Rouge the Bat was a young prodigy, having started her business - the casino bar Club Rouge - when she was only fifteen. It was a fairly quiet business, but it made enough profit to remain on its feet. Rouge enjoyed meeting the patronage of the town at the club, getting to know people she traditionally would never have met through taking their troubles (and money) away. Vanilla was a kind woman she’d met a year ago who was in need of a job, and Rouge figured it’d be good to have someone capable of keeping the club open when she was away handling her…  _ other _ job. Namely, Rouge was an ace thief, having a reputation on the black market as the mysterious Ruby Eclipse. She’d taken on a few minor tasks for good fees, but this job in particular was a special one to her…

The bat took to the skies as she stepped outside, flying to where she’d be hidden from the public’s vision. It was time for Ruby Eclipse to make herself known…

\---

Water.

All around.

Can’t breathe-

Shadow began to panic as his mind pieced together the details. The explosion had sent him over the edge and underwater, and  _ these damn heavy rocket shoes _ were weighing him down. He began to flail in the water, attempting to push to the surface…

Guess swimming lessons weren’t included in his survivor’s instinct.

As Shadow attempted to flail, he sank down deeper, scaring away some nearby fish… and hooking his glove on something. A cord? In a desperate attempt to save himself, he grabbed hold of the cord and the sharp metal hook at its end, feeling his breath running out. To his surprise, he was quickly yanked above the edge of the water. He gripped tight as he was pulled out of the waves, finally allowing himself to cough out liquid back into the depths below as he recovered.

“Huh…? You’re not a fish…”

“Sure I’m not.” Shadow coughed. He squeezed the water from his eyes, looking at his accidental savior - a large purple cat wearing a fisherman’s garb. Shadow quickly hopped off the line, landing on the edge of the beach. After a moment’s hesitation, he looked over towards the big cat. “...thanks.”

“No problem!” The cat gave a gentle thumbs-up before returning to his fishing. Shadow gave a small smile. A simple man having a simple life.

Tapping the side of his head a bit, Shadow knocked the water out of his ear as he strolled down the street. Now having a bit of time to himself, he was able to try and put some thoughts together. What exactly had happened before? The last thing he remembered was… well, the explosion sending him into the water. He didn’t recall anything before encountering those robots. But he can’t have just started his life  _ there _ , right? Shadow already had built-in muscle memory - that’s not something you can get genetically. He tried to remember anything… Nope. Nothing at all.

He came from the pod. What did that mean about his history…?

Shadow paused. His ears heard a siren coming from nearby. Based on what happened previously, he decided that it’d be a wiser decision to get out of the way, quickly running behind a billboard as the police car drove by. As soon as the car was out of sight, he moved back out again. It’d be fairly easy for the police to find him if they saw him, red stripes and- wait, red stripes? Why did he have red stripes on his body? Shadow noticed them for the first time, pausing for a second to check the billboard - sure enough, a hedgehog with no stripes. The cat from earlier had stripes, but they were just a fur pattern. This clearly wasn’t. Odd.

As he kept walking, however, he stopped. His casual run slowly turned into a slow walk before he stopped, gripping the side of his head. What was that feeling? It felt like something was tugging him forwards. What exactly he couldn’t say, but…

Shadow blinked for a moment. Despite the eyelids covering his vision, he could see a faint green light sparkling in the blackness.

With a gasp, the hedgehog’s eyes shot open. That was something. But what? He needed to know. He needed to reach whatever that was. It had to have something to do with his past, surely! Shadow began to speed up, running before breaking into a dash, his skates firing with energy as he charged down the street, heading towards his goal.

But he was just in the middle of the road. He didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know what was there. He was far too far away to get to it, if he was just THERE-

And Shadow vanished in a green light.

\---

“And it just… shut down?”

“Yeah, it’s weird. Stopped working. No sign of external damage…”

Ruby Eclipse couldn’t help but smirk as the two guards looked at the camera, completely confused as to the reason behind the sudden shutdown of the security device. Her little toys were quite useful for disabling machines, the zapper already removed by the bat on her way past. With the security guards no longer guarding the door, she was free to swoop into the main transport hall.

Ruby quickly moved over to the roof of the area, looking down. Three security guards, four cameras sweeping the ground. Nothing much she couldn’t avoid by staying high, which was exactly what she did, crossing the room. The problem would be continuing onwards. Ruby narrowed her eyes, scanning the end of the room. A double door - closed, of course - with two crossed security cameras overlooking it. And just above it, a vent.

Her course of action decided on, the masked bat flew over to the vent, silently opening it and sliding inside before closing it behind her. Completely silently. Her wings still keeping her aloft, all she had to do was turn around and- Crap. Vent wasn’t big enough for her to flip over. Ah well, feet-first into danger it is then. Ruby Eclipse slowly drifted through the vents, her wings keeping her aloft and just barely not touching the sides of the vents. Vents were good at carrying sound, and she wasn’t keen on being found out so easily. 

As Ruby gently drifted through, she turned over to face the ground as she came to a grate. On the other side of it was a vault door. Perfect. The bat gently grabbed the grate and moved it, putting it down silently inside of the vent and flapping down into the hall. Ruby Eclipse dropped down next to the vault door, looking it over. A keycard lock kept it in place, but she heard voices from inside… Quickly flying up to the roof, she perched on top of the vault’s frame and waited. Her patience paid off as a trio of guards came out, one clearly of superior rank.

“...y’got that? If anyone gets their hands on that gem, we’re in some serious trouble.”

“Wow, boss. Didn’t figure this rock was that important.”

“You don’t figure much, knucklehead. Now close up that door.”

Ruby gave a small smile. As the door was closing, she quickly threw a metal calling card into the door, stopping it from fully locking as the vault slammed shut. The second that the guards exited, Ruby Eclipse dropped down and gripped the vault, pulling it open and slipping inside.

Now inside the main vault, she found herself in a large circular room. Glancing about, she noticed small devices attached to the walls. Just to check, she made a gentle whistle… and with her echolocation, she easily picked up on the laser trigger sensors crossing the room. One wrong move, and she’d set off high security alarms across the entire facility. With a devious smile, Ruby Eclipse began to weave her way through the alarms, continuing to whistle and pick up on the locations of each laser sight. Gently touching down next to the green gem held on the pedestal in the center of the room, she softly lifted up the glass case and placed it to the side. All there was left to do was grab the gem and get out of-

There was a sudden flash of green light. The next second, Ruby Eclipse looked up to see a black hedgehog with red stripes spontaneously  _ appear _ in front of her, holding out his hand to the gem much the same as she was.

“What the fu-?!”

In her shock, Ruby lost her composure and stumbled back… right into one of the laser sights. Loud alarms began to blare, the bat slamming her hands over her ears as she adjusted to the volume. Frantically looking around, she knew it was time to leave. But she needed her prize. Looking back to the pedestal, she saw the black hedgehog picking up the gem, as if in a trance…

\---

_ “The Azure Wind…” _

_ “He sounds incredible, doesn’t he, Shadow? A gentleman thief who appears in the night, stealing ancient treasures out of the hands of greater evils and making sure no one can misuse their power. A blue blur who isn’t defeated by anyone.” _

_ “And he’s… who I have to live up to?” _

_ “You don’t have to live up to anyone, Shadow! You just need to be… you. Whoever that’s meant to be.” _

_ “Heh… I bet you had a much easier time figuring out what you wanted to do. You were born into this family.” _

_ “Well, you could SAY that. I’m not sure if I want to stick with grandfather’s research or not. You do realize I’d normally be in middle school about now, right?” _

_ “I suppose that means we’re both in search of purpose, then.” _

_ “Yeah… I guess so.” _

_ “...hey. Maria?” _

_ “What is it, Shadow?” _

_ “The Azure Wind… what-” _

SMACK!

“Stop standing around, you idiot! We’re in real trouble here!”

Shadow stumbled back, one hand moving to his cheek and the other tightly gripping the green glowing gemstone in his hand. “...ow.”

“I have so, SO many questions.” The bat woman said. Shadow noted her dark red velvet outfit, with the ribbon mask covering the top half of her face having a gemstone embedded in the front. Her two wings poked out the back, just like her ears pointed upwards sharply. “But all of that can wait until we’re out of here, and I’m taking you with me because I’m NOT leaving without answers.”

“Where is this?” Shadow demanded. “I’m afraid I don’t know what’s happening here.”

“What’s happening is that YOU teleported into one of the most important vaults in the country and got US in danger of being arrested, SHOT or WORSE!” Ruby Eclipse shouted back. “Wait, teleportation. Can you get us out of here?”

“I don’t know how I did that.” Shadow admitted. “It was instinctual.”

“Oh, just GREAT!” The thief let out a pained wail, attempting to regain her composure. “Any more neat tricks you want to show off that you CAN do on command?”

“I can skate at supersonic speeds.”

“That… could actually help us escape…”

The vault door beeped for a moment, now opening up again. The two intruders turned to see a pack of guards approaching, all armed with rifles they were aiming at the pair. Shadow may have been awake for less than half an hour, but he was fully aware of how he felt about armed men pointing guns at him.

Shadow blasted over, his rocket skates firing as he unleashed a whirlwind kick, knocking one of the men to the ground and consequently bowling over the other gunmen like dominoes. He turned back to the bat. “Are we going?”

“...wow, you’re good.” She whistled. “Alright, dark knight, lead the way.”

“You’re the one who knows where the exit is…”

“A fair point.”

Ruby Eclipse flew through the hall. There’d be no point in going back through the vents, so she simply kicked open the double door. Security cameras had them by this point, but there wasn’t much of a way to return to stealth, so let them know it was Ruby Eclipse behind this raid. She spotted a reinforced window on the upper layer, the two guards running over quickly disabled by Shadow. “Agh, glass is reinforced. I’m not prepared to break that with just my kicks…”

“Let me give it a try.” Shadow said, running over to Ruby.

“What? Gonna try and melt the glass with your boots?”

“Something like that. Throw me at it.”

Ruby did so, grabbing Shadow’s wrist and launching him at the window. As Shadow spun through the air, he curled into a ball and lit up with amber energy, shooting forwards like a cannonball and smashing through the glass! He shot forward to the other side, breaking out of the spin and holding out his arms to try and slow his descent. Ruby Eclipse flew through the window after him, catching the hedgehog’s wrist.

“Like I said… You’re good.”

“And that’s another technique I can thank muscle memory for…”

Ruby Eclipse quickly flew off into the sky, holding the black hedgehog aloft… who looked down at the green gem in his hand, still pondering just what it meant to him.

\---

“I think we’re in the clear.”

Ruby Eclipse let out a sigh, gently closing the door of the shed they’d snuck into a few blocks away. “Cops just pulled out the heli, so they’re either searching on the other side of the city or they’ve given up on us for now. Which means we’ve got some time for questions.”

Ruby narrowed her eyes, looking to Shadow. The hedgehog was leaning against the wall, holding the emerald in his hand and looking down into its glowing radiance.

“Hey. Eyes on me.” Ruby Eclipse snapped. Shadow glanced up with his eyes, but his head remained pointed down towards the gem. “First question. Who are you?”

“Shadow the Hedgehog.”

“Awesome, tells me practically nothing.” She crossed her arms. “Second question. How’d you get to this gem?”

“I… sensed it.”

“You  _ sensed _ it?”

Shadow nodded. “I don’t know what this thing is, but it’s almost like it was… calling to me. Like finding it - having it with me - is right.”

“You can sense a Chaos Emerald…?”

That caught Shadow’s attention. “A Chaos Emerald? That’s what this thing is?”

“Yeah.” Rouge nodded. “It’s a pretty famous treasure - I mean, a gemstone capable of producing infinite energy?”

“And I assume you want to use its power as well.”

“Not really, honestly.” Ruby shrugged. “I’ve got enough in my personal life to keep me going. But I  _ am _ hunting the Chaos Emeralds. It’s a job.”

“Plural. There’s multiple?” Shadow questioned, holding the gem tight.

“Seven in all.” Ruby explained. “They’re in various places around Station Square, passed down over the past decade to various businesses. I’m working to snatch all of them for the sake of my employer. Which leads me to question three…” She stared him dead in the eyes. “What do I have to do to get that Emerald from you?”

Shadow had no reply, clutching the Emerald and holding it tight. “This gem is connected to my past. I’m not giving it up without a fight.”

“And I’d lose.” Ruby groaned. “Great. So now I need to-” She paused. “Wait. What do you mean ‘connected to your past’? What’s your link with the Chaos Emeralds?”

Shadow chuckled. “Honestly, you know as much as I do. I don’t remember much, but I do know that I’ve got some link to the Chaos Emeralds. They might be the key to my lost memory…”

Ruby pondered. “No memory…? Do you have a home?”

“I woke up in a pod on the middle of the street. Take a guess.”

“Oh my god, you were inside that pod.” The bat gasped. “I guess that explains why finding you is such a high priority for MeteoTech.” Shadow raised an eyebrow at that, which Ruby waved off. “I’ll explain later. So you’ve got nowhere to stay or go?”

“Considering the authorities know what I look like…” He huffed, glancing to the side.

“...alright. How about a deal?”

Shadow looked back at Ruby, standing up as she approached him. “What’s your proposition?”

“Mutual benefit.” Ruby said. “We work together. I’m tracking down the Chaos Emeralds for my own reasons, and you need them for your memories. I’d say that with the right training we could be a pretty good team. So why not team up? I’ll let you stay at my place and properly supply you, you find the Emeralds for me, we grab them together. Sound like a deal?” She held out a hand.

“What happens when we get the full set?” Shadow questioned, crossing his arms.

“Well…” She hesitated for a moment. “I kind of have to give them to my boss. But until then, I’ll let you hold on to every Emerald we get. That work for you?”

“Hmph. Deal.”

Shadow shook the hand of Ruby Eclipse, solidifying their partnership.

“Perfect!” Ruby said. “Which means I can finally take this outfit off.” Quickly lifting her hand, she rubbed the golden ring on her finger and allowed the red outfit to vanish in a flash of light - Ruby Eclipse reverting back to regular old Rouge the Bat. She gave Shadow a brief wave. “Heya. This is my regular look.”

He nodded. “So you have a double identity?”

“That I do. It helps to keep the cops off my back.” Rouge stretched for a moment. “And if we’re working together, you’ll need one too. I’ll deal with the red stripes, but having them on can be your signature thief look. But you need a second name.”

Shadow put a hand on his chin, pondering. It’d be best for him to come up with something himself…

_ “A gentleman thief who appears in the night, stealing ancient treasures out of the hands of greater evils and making sure no one can misuse their power.” _

_ “The Azure Wind…” _

His flash of memory had given him the perfect inspiration.

“I’ll go by… the Black Wind.”

\---

Lights clicked on above the chamber as the workshop was illuminated. E-101 and E-102 stood at the entrance, giving a quick salute as their creator walked past. The large man moved over to the workbench, passing it to see the large metal pod that had been placed on the ground. He gently brushed off the dirt and dust at its top to reveal an insignia - ARK.

“So, this really is my grandfather’s final creation we’re dealing with…”

He began to put various scanners over the pod, seeking to determine its specifics. E-102 curiously walked over. “What do you wish to find, creator?”

“The specifics of what we’re dealing with.” He remarked, tapping away at his tablet. “I want all the information we can get.”

It was E-101’s turn to speak up. “Is this necessary?”

“Oh, Beta. It’s entirely necessary. You and your brothers need every advantage you can get in dealing with this foe.” The scientist replied, continuing to analyze. “My grandfather specialized in biological weapons for the latter half of his life. If this individual truly is Gerald’s magnum opus…”

The CEO of MeteoTech, Doctor Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik, turned to face his creations.

“...then this creature is too dangerous to be left alive.”

**Author's Note:**

> Been hoping to do something with this AU for a while. It's a lighthearted thief story I've had on the brain for a while inspired by "Diamond Jack" by Rachel Kim - this first part is mostly an introduction to who Shadow and Rouge are as people here, as well as beginning the story! Hope y'all liked it.
> 
> NEXT TIME: Shadow makes some coffee the wrong way.


End file.
